Clemson didn’t look like the No. 3 team in the country Thursday night. Nonetheless, its 26-14 victory at N.C. State is a significant plus for a team harboring national title hopes.

Lesser versions of the Tigers in recent years would have melted when it became apparent they weren’t at their best and their opponent was willing to hang around. It was precisely what Clemson was known for, actually.

Maybe the Tigers have a foolish loss in them yet, but Thursday provided several instructive moments about just what coach Dabo Swinney’s team is capable of this year. They aren’t going to play at an absurdly high level (such as they did in the opener against Georgia) against every decent opponent, but there was a glimmer of dominance with consecutive touchdown drives in the second half.

Then there’s the defense, which managed 10 tackles for loss (including five sacks) and forced 16 incompletions in 73 plays. When more than a third of an opponent’s snaps are going for nothing (or less), things are going well.

Clemson scored at least 37 points in every conference game last year. The Tigers won’t match that accomplishment this fall, and they’re not going to be perfect. But winning by double-figures on the road on an off night is hardly a bad development for Clemson.

Some other notable developments from Thursday night’s game …

You know who’s also mortal? The officials. No one’s perfect, and officials make mistakes like anyone else. Still, it’s worth wondering what would have happened if Bryan Underwood wasn’t incorrectly ruled out of bounds in the middle of the third quarter on what would have been an 83-yard touchdown run for N.C. State.

Instead, the Wolfpack (down 13-7 at the time) fumbled it away three plays later. Five plays after that, Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd found Martavis Bryant for a touchdown and N.C. State was never within a possession again. Clemson is the more talented team, but things surely could have turned out differently had the Wolfpack regained the lead.

Well, those are 23 ways to slow down the Clemson offense. The best way to limit the damage of Boyd and his posse of talent is to keep them off the field. N.C. State just happened to choose the wrong point to take a lot of time off the clock.

Down 26-7, the Wolfpack used a 23-play, 84-yard drive to score their second touchdown of the night. The possession bled more than seven minutes off the clock, and N.C. State wouldn’t see the ball again until 36 seconds remained. It was an impressive bit of work; it just would have done more good a little earlier in the game.

There’s hope for the N.C. State defense. Clemson averaged 6.3 yards per play last season and dropped 62 points on the Wolfpack in last year’s meeting. The Tigers had a manageable 5.4 yards per play and only tossed up 26 points this time around.

With the N.C. State offense in flux without the sort of mobile quarterback coach Dave Doeren would prefer, the Wolfpack is going to need a stout defense to stay afloat. It wasn’t perfect against Clemson, but few teams are against the Tigers. This was an encouraging performance despite the loss.

The same can’t be said for a conventional N.C. State rushing game. N.C. State’s leading rusher was a wide receiver (Underwood, with 54 yards). Its second-leading rusher was quarterback Pete Thomas, who picked up 30 yards despite not being known for his scrambling. The Wolfpack’s No. 3 rusher was Bryant Shirreffs, the team’s Wildcat quarterback.

As for tailbacks Tony Creecy, Mart Dayes and Shadrach Thornton? They combined for 13 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown. Take out Thornton’s 21-yard touchdown run, and the efficiency plummets precipitously. It’s already clear N.C. State has some things to fix if it wants to get its tailbacks on track without a rushing threat at quarterback.

It was a marvelous night for Martavis Bryant. Boyd targeted Sammy Watkins repeatedly, which is what is to be expected. Bryant, though, caught two of Boyd’s three touchdown passes as the Tigers adjusted to the loss of Charone Peake (ACL tear) for the season.

Boyd’s skillset, Watkins’ presence and a sound offensive line is going to create chances for someone to shine. Bryant, a big-play wideout throughout his career, could prove the biggest beneficiary of talent around him. He certainly was on Thursday.